Bowl betting recap: Utah was the only Pac-12 team to cover the spread
The Pac-12 even had a hard time beating the spread in bowl games.
The conference went 0-5 in bowl games after the 2021 season. And Utah was the only team that ended up covering a game against the spread at BetMGM.
The Utes closed as 4-point underdogs against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and led for most of the game before a furious Ohio State comeback culminated with a 48-45 win. Utah had opened as a 6.5-point underdog ahead of the game but the spread dropped 2.5 points as players like Ohio State’s Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson said they wouldn’t play.
Two other Pac-12 teams were underdogs in their bowl games and failed to cover. Oregon closed as a 6.5-point underdog to Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl before losing 47-32. And Arizona State closed as a 6.5-point favorite against Wisconsin and lost 20-13 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Sun Devils covered for you, however, if you were able to grab them at +7.5 when the line first opened.
The other two Pac-12 teams that lost their bowl games were touchdown favorites. Oregon State was a 7.5-point favorite in the LA Bowl but lost to Utah State while Washington State was a 7-point favorite against Central Michigan in the reshuffled Sun Bowl. The Cougars started slowly and their late comeback attempt was foiled.
SEC went 6-7-1 ATS
Blindly betting SEC teams in bowl games wasn’t a great idea. SEC teams were 5-6-1 against the spread in non national-title bowl games. Georgia’s win over Alabama pushed that stat to 6-7-1 as SEC teams were 7-7 overall in bowl games.
The push came in the Citrus Bowl, as Kentucky closed as a 3-point favorite over Iowa and won by three. LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Auburn and Florida were the six SEC teams that didn’t cover against non-SEC opponents.
Blindly betting the under in SEC bowl games would have netted you some significant cash, however. Among the 14 games that featured SEC teams, 11 of them went under. That was by far the biggest rate of any conference. On the season, the 37 bowl games played went over the total 18 times and under the total 19 times. Non-SEC games included 15 overs and just eight unders.
Big 12 and AAC did well
The only two conferences to have their teams cover more than 70% of the time were the AAC and the Big 12. AAC teams went 3-1 against the spread while Big 12 teams were 5-2 against the spread. Cincinnati was the only AAC team that didn’t cover in its Cotton Bowl loss to Alabama and Iowa State and West Virginia were the only two Big 12 teams that failed to cover.
Both conferences’ record against the spread reflected its record overall in bowl games; Houston, UCF and Tulsa all won their games. In the Big 12, Oklahoma State (Notre Dame) and Texas Tech (Mississippi State) won straight up in their bowl games.
